Chapter 439 "Strange Fire"

Back then, Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya crashed into the sea with the Cloud Chariot Flying Dragon, their fate unknown. At that time, before Nan Jing had time to cause trouble for others, the strange fire that burned Zhou occurred.

Once Nanjing began its purge, Shi Yuezhen found herself in a situation where she was hunted down by even more people.

In recent years, neither the Nan Jing, Tai Yi, nor the Nan Gong family have been able to find any news about Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya, and many people believe that they are dead.

Last year, Nanjing announced the death of the Holy Maiden and appointed a new successor.

Yu Sui also believed that the two people had little chance of survival at that time, but the fact that no bodies were found meant that there was still a glimmer of hope.

Mei Liangyu went into the room and examined the deceased's right hand, confirming that there was a red spider mark on the arm that Kong Yiyi had mentioned.

The Five Elements Light Cores didn't keep up, but Mei Liangyu overheard the conversation inside the house and knew where they were going next.

But before setting off, Yu Sui asked Mei Liangyu, "Should we tell Senior Sister Kong and the others about this?"

Mei Liangyu pondered without answering.

Given those two's temperaments, there's no way to stop them. Kong Yiyi will search the entire Xiangshan City to find them and rescue Shi Yuezhen.

However, neither of them is in good condition right now, and going with them would be dangerous.

"Let Wanqi continue investigating for a few more days." Mei Liangyu still didn't intend to tell them now.

Yu Sui then left the city with him and headed towards the western wilderness.

Because they shared the same goal, the two caught up with Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya before dawn.

The wasteland outside the city stretched as far as the eye could see. Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya were both using the Wind Riding Technique to move swiftly when suddenly Xun Zhiya swayed and almost fell, but Gu Gan caught her around the waist.

A layer of cold sweat appeared on Xun Zhiya's face. Gu Gan said, "Rest for a while." Then he took out a medicine bottle from the mechanism box, opened it, and fed Xun Zhiya the medicine.

"Once we reach Black Castle and find evidence that your royal uncle was involved in creating the Abyss of Venom, your brothers will be finished, and the position of heir will still be yours."

Gu Gan lowered his head and kissed Xun Zhiya's forehead, gently comforting her: "Go to sleep, I will get everything you lost back for you."

Xun Zhiya tugged at his clothes, closed her eyes, and nestled in his arms to escape the cold wind of the wilderness.

Yu Sui sneezed behind her, and Mei Liangyu draped a thick, snow-white fox fur coat over her shoulders, listening to her mutter a complaint: "Senior brother, are you thinking about me? Otherwise, why am I sneezing so much? Achoo!"

"What am I talking about? Childhood sweethearts meeting again? Or is your childhood sweetheart flirting with another woman up ahead?" Mei Liangyu said without even looking up.

After sneezing, Yu Sui turned to look at him and said, "You're jealous again. The only thing we can say about each other is 'childhood sweethearts.' If Gu Gan sees me later, he won't even have time to kill me for revenge. He won't even think about the childhood sweetheart thing anymore. Why are you still thinking about it?"

Mei Liangyu thought for a moment and said, "Whenever you mention your childhood, you inevitably bring up Gu Gan."

Yu Sui: "Then I won't talk about things from when I was a child."

Mei Liangyu refused: "How would I know if you don't tell me?"

Yu Sui stared at him, feeling both annoyed and amused, yet helpless.

Mei Liangyu has recently developed a fondness for the expressions on her face that show anger or emotional fluctuations. These expressions are lively and vivid, a departure from her previous pretense of being well-behaved and sensible. Instead, they reveal her true self.

In the years she's been with him, Yu Sui has indeed become much happier and more lively.

"When we left Nanjing last year, didn't they just announce the death of the Holy Maiden?" Yu Sui rubbed her cool cheek against the furry collar and got down to business. "I thought Nanjing had found evidence of Xun Zhiya's death. It seems it was just a factional struggle in Nanjing, and the Holy Maiden's side lost."

"Gu Gan came to Black Castle this time intending to use Sister Yuezhen as evidence to bring down Imperial Uncle Xun Zhiya. This also proves that Black Castle and the creation of the Abyss of Vipers were done by the Xun family of Nan Jing, right?"

“It’s not necessarily just the Xun family.” Mei Liangyu looked around at the wilderness. “They changed their location to within the territory of Dan Kingdom, so they must also be cooperating with Dan Kingdom.”

“They look like they need to rest for a while. Should we take a detour and get ahead of them?” Yu Sui asked.

"Don't you need to rest?" Mei Liangyu reached out and touched her cold cheek. "The Western Wilderness is cold, and the reconstruction of Black Castle is also in the snow-capped mountains. I guess it's because the medicinal herbs they use or those poisonous insects can only live in cold climates."

"You can't stay in a cold place for too long."

The Yin-Yang Pisces suppressed the strange fire within her body, allowing her to use its power more stably, which also made Yu Sui more afraid of the cold than the heat.

This can also be considered a lingering ailment she developed after refining the Yin-Yang Pisces.

“This is alright,” Yu Sui said, opening her arms to him. “Then lend me your arms to warm up.”

Mei Liangyu reached out and pulled her into his arms. Yu Sui said, "I'll just sleep for a while. If they haven't made a move by the time I wake up, then we'll head ahead." The man agreed. A moment later, Yu Sui said again, "See? It was you who was muttering that made me sneeze. Now that you're not muttering anymore, I won't sneeze."

"Go to sleep now." Mei Liangyu chuckled and patted her head.

Yu Sui closed his eyes to rest.

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Sui's consciousness sank into the cold water. She opened her eyes and saw two fish, one black and one white, circling around her in the water.

The black and white Pisces was different from before; it used to give her a sense of oppression and murderous intent. At this moment, Yu Sui felt a warm and reliable aura.

Yu Sui slowly closed his eyes in the water. Suddenly, he heard the whispers of the evil spirits from the dream of the heavens. Flames lit up the dark water, like falling stars, burning towards the person in the water.

The water was boiling, scalding hot, and billowing white smoke. The black and white fish swam on either side of Yu Sui, glaring angrily at the surging sparks.

Yu Sui heard the seductive whispers of those evil spirits, and transformed into Mingyue Qing's soft voice:

“Strange Fire”.

A flame suddenly ignited at her fingertips.

Yu Sui opened her eyes instantly and caught a glimpse of Mei Liangyu extinguishing the flames on her wrist. Her heart pounded, and she grabbed Mei Liangyu's hand.

Mei Liangyu tried to pull his hand back, but Yu Sui held it tightly. He could only say, "It's just a flesh wound, nothing serious."

In a short time, Mei Liangyu, who was caught off guard, had his hand burned to a bloody mess by the sudden flames that burned all the way up to his elbow. If Yu Sui hadn't woken up, the fire would have burned him completely.

Yu Sui gripped her bleeding arm and took a deep breath. Her breathing was heavy with anger, and her mind was in chaos. Mei Liangyu didn't dare to say anything at this moment. She secretly watched Yu Sui's expression and skillfully took out the mechanical box to treat her own injury.

"It was because I was too slow to stop. If I had been quicker, I wouldn't have gotten burned," Mei Liangyu reassured her.

Ever since Mingyue Qing used the strange fire to burn down the Zhou Kingdom, Yu Sui has been bewitched by the strange fire even without using it.

At first, there were only whispering voices of evil spirits, but gradually they developed into unconsciously setting fire to whatever was at hand.

After accidentally starting a fire that nearly burned Mei Liangyu, Yu Sui made up his mind to refine the Yin-Yang Pisces.

At that time, she thought that as long as she used the Yin-Yang Pisces to suppress the power of the strange fire, she could solve the problem.

However, this situation began to recur at the beginning of this year, and even burned Mei Liangyu's hands.

Is the cause the strange fire? Or the Bright Moon Azure?

This person wasn't dead, but didn't seem to be alive either.

Yu Sui was certain that Ming Yueqing was still in Zhou, and that he could not possibly have left alive. But in what form did he remain in Zhou?

Even after the land was burned by the strange fire, it remained dangerous and people could not easily set foot there. Despite relying on the sacred stone, Shui Zhou was unable to explore the entire Zhou Kingdom.

The Zhou Kingdom, now destroyed by the strange fire, is also known as the Kingdom of Ashes.

Yu Sui once wanted to find all the world destroyers so that everyone could find a way to separate the strange fire, not to gather everyone together to complete the world-destroying prophecy.

Mingyue Qing's sudden burst of fire caught the other World Destroyers off guard, making them realize the power of the strange fire. However, it also made Yu Sui understand that one World Destroyer alone could not destroy the entire Xuan Gu Continent.

While Mingyue Qing was trapped in the Zhou Kingdom, none of the other world destroyers had any intention of burning down the entire world, so the Xuan Gu Continent was temporarily considered "safe".

However, if the situation of the strange fire bewitching the destroyer becomes uncontrollable, causing the destroyer to unknowingly set the fire, then it will be unsafe.

"I'm sorry, senior brother, you..."

Mei Liangyu interrupted her: "Don't tell me to stay away from you, I won't listen."

"I would never say such a thing." Yu Sui shook her head. She wanted to help Mei Liangyu treat his injuries, but she was afraid of burning him again. Just as she withdrew her hand, she saw Mei Liangyu looking over: "This injury is enough for me to ask you for a lot of benefits. Aren't you going to help me cover it up?"

Mei Liangyu forcefully grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

Yu Sui had no choice but to help, cleaning the wound and applying medicine. The burn marks formed an ugly patch on the man's arm.

When Mei Liangyu was bandaging Yu Sui, she asked her, "Would you still like it if it left a scar?"

Yu Sui: "I like you whether you have scars or not."

“Me too,” Mei Liangyu lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers, his earnest voice ringing in Yu Sui’s ear, “I’d love it even if we were burned to death.”

Yu Sui stood on tiptoe and kissed him, but said, "Once we find Sister Yuezhen, we'll go to Zhou Kingdom to take a look."

"Going to the Zhou Kingdom?" Mei Liangyu asked. "Are you going to submerge yourself in a boat?"

“Go find Mingyue Qing. I heard his voice in the strange fire.” Yu Sui lowered his eyes and pondered. “It takes five people to prophesy the destruction of the world. Mingyue Qing alone cannot do it. Perhaps he chose to stand on the side of the strange fire, trying to charm the other destroyers to set the fire together.”

There has not been a single instance of empathy among the destroyers in these three years.

Yu Sui wanted to figure out what was going on. If she accidentally burned Mei Liangyu one day, then it would be her turn to go crazy.

"Until I figure it out, you need to be careful and not get burned again." Yu Sui touched his hand.

Mei Liangyu said, "Absolutely not."

...

As dawn broke, there was some movement from Gu Gan's side. Xun Zhiya lifted her head from his embrace and said softly, "I'm much better, let's go."

Gu Gan then channeled the Five Elements Qi into her: "No need to force yourself."

Xun Zhiya said, "I want to find out about Black Castle as soon as possible and go back."

"Okay." Gu Gan put her down. "If you feel uncomfortable, stop and rest immediately. You used Heavenly Punishment too many times recently, which has taken a toll on your body. Don't use it anymore recently."

Xun Zhiya nodded.

Upon hearing this, Yu Sui's expression turned strange. She said to Mei Liangyu, "Could Xun Zhiya really be Han Ziyang's sister?"

Mei Liangyu wasn't particularly surprised: "According to my uncle, the Xun family kept Han Xiao alive in order to obtain descendants of the Heavenly Punishment bloodline."

"Since she has the bloodline of Heavenly Punishment, why not announce it to the public? Wouldn't that be more advantageous for her?"

Perhaps Xun Zhiya is not the only one with the bloodline of Heavenly Punishment; perhaps it is because everyone knows that Heavenly Punishment is unique to the Han family of the Legalist school.

Perhaps... Yu Sui thought of what Gongsun Qi said about Han Xiao marrying a princess of Nan Jing, but he didn't say which one, it could be any one of them.

Yu Sui didn't think about it any further. Right now, the priority was to find Shi Yuezhen, so he followed Gu Gan and the other man to the reed marshland.

Emerging from the barren wasteland, one can see vast expanses of swaying reeds in the distance. The reeds accompany the wetlands, and some of the irrigation ditches are clear, flowing deeper into the water. The wind blows the reed leaves, making a rustling sound.

Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya slowed down. If they wanted to go any further, they had to cross this reed marshland. It covered a huge area, and no matter how they took a detour, they had to pass through it.

Those dense tangerine trees grow wildly in places where no one is watching, towering half a head taller than an adult. Once you enter, you lose sight of them and feel somewhat oppressed.

Fortunately, there was still a road outside. Following the reeds along the ditch, we gradually saw traces left by other people who had passed by.

After walking for about six or seven miles, Yu Sui could sense that there were quite a few people ahead of him, and Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya were still continuing forward.

Through the gaps in the orange peel, one could vaguely glimpse the swaying figures.

They heard a man shout, "Jimon!"

The four people hiding in the shadows looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall, thin figure unloading goods in the reeds. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and silently turned around.